Covid cases surge in Europe
Millions of Christians around the world celebrated a second Easter under coronavirus restrictions yesterday, as dramatic spikes in cases have forced reimposition of deeply unpopular restrictions across Europe.
New strains of virus have swept across France and much of Europe, amid a slower rollout of anti-Covid vaccines in the European Union than in some countries including Britain and the United States.
In India, Bollywood star Akshay Kumar said yesterday he has tested positive for Covid-19, becoming the latest Indian celebrity to contract the virus as the vast nation battles a new wave of cases.
The country reported 93,249 new daily infections yesterday, according to health ministry data, the highest increase since September, taking the total known cases to almost 12.5 million.
Experts have warned that infections are increasing at a faster pace in India, which has the world's third-highest number of cases after the US and Brazil, compared to last year.
France reported Saturday that 5,273 people were in intensive care units (ICU) for Covid-19, a rise of 19 from the previous day, as the country entered its third national lockdown to help combat the pandemic.
The government had been trying to keep the lid on new Covid cases with curfews and regional measures but from Saturday, and for the next four weeks, schools and non-essential businesses across the country will remain shut.
The rise in ICU patients on Saturday followed a much bigger jump the day before - the highest in five months, at 145. President Emmanuel Macron has pledged more hospital beds to care for critically ill Covid-19 patients.
Macron had hoped to steer France out of the pandemic without having to impose a third national lockdown that would further batter an economy still reeling from last year's slump.
Across the Atlantic, Canada crossed the threshold of one million cases, forcing several provinces to tighten restrictions for the Easter weekend.
And celebrations have been dampened in South America too, where Brazil is in the grip of a devastating outbreak likely fuelled by a more contagious variant. The worrying situation led Peru to go into an Easter lockdown, Bolivia to seal the frontier with Brazil, and Chile to close all borders.
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